Let’s keep lessons of history alive in hearts of Filipinos

IN THE Inquirer’s March 3 editorial (“Giving the lie”), suggestions for some possible ways to tell the true story on the dark days of martial law were mentioned. This seems urgent in the light of current attempts to rewrite history in order to gain support for the move to bury the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
It is worthy to note that the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Center already has some initiatives along the ones mentioned there. It has set up and is maintaining a museum which houses memorabilia as well as the works of various artists depicting incidents that happened during the martial law period. The Bantayog also has a library which provides a documentary on the works of people who struggled during those years. More than these, the Bantayog’s “Wall of Remembrance”—a black granite wall where the names of Filipinos who struggled and fought against the dictatorship are etched —is a haunting memorial of their valiant and selfless sacrifices. All these are intended to remind all Filipinos about our own holocaust and the need to guard against any tendency toward despotism.
The effort does not seem enough. Bantayog is not known to the majority of the population. It is limited in its capability to acquire and appropriately store the rich collections significantly representative of that historical period. The lessons of the anti-dictatorship struggle have not also been communicated enough for the next generations to persevere in keeping the ideals of democracy, justice and freedom.
In celebration of its 25th anniversary (also the 25th year since the Edsa revolution), the Bantayog launched a Legacy Campaign intended to provide a more determined, focused and relevant strategy for passing on to the next generations the lessons of the anti-dictatorship struggle. The campaign is intended to engage all Filipinos in an advocacy to keep the lessons of our history alive in the hearts of everyone. It should be a sustained act of remembering and reaffirming the Filipino’s revolutionary spirit to protect democracy.
The Bantayog is grateful to the Inquirer for its continuing support of our activities and programs.
—NIEVELENA V. ROSETE,
executive director,
Bantayog ng mga Bayani,
Quezon Ave. near Edsa,
Diliman, Quezon City